Alec Asher earns 1st big-league win, denies any wrongdoing after PED ban

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WASHINGTON — Alec Asher did some growing up since he last pitched in the major leagues.
 
It showed Thursday night.
 
Asher’s first big-league start of 2016 was a beauty — six shutout innings to lead the Phillies to a 4-1 win over the Washington Nationals (see Instant Replay). It was the 24-year-old right-hander’s first big-league victory. He got a taste of the majors late last season and it ended up being pretty sour as he went 0-6 with a 9.31 ERA in seven starts for the Phils.
 
Asher was a totally different guy Thursday night. Facing the best team in the National League East — a club that had beaten the Phillies nine straight times — he gave up just two hits. He changed speeds well, threw strikes (just one walk), got quick outs and carried himself with poise. He did not strike out a batter, but had four 1-2-3 innings.
 
“I felt like I wasn’t myself at the end of last year and I let the moment get to me,” said Asher, who came to the Phillies from Texas in the Cole HameIs trade last summer. “I just said to myself that I was going to go out there and have fun. I was going to go back to being me. It definitely worked and I’m looking to build on it.”
 
Manager Pete Mackanin saw a more mature pitcher this time around in Asher.
 
“This was a testament to his makeup,” Mackanin said. “Last year, he looked a little bit nervous most of the time and he got rocked around.
 
“Somebody asked me last year after he was getting knocked around so much if it was a good idea to call him up to the big leagues. I made the comment that, yes, it is because when he goes back down he’ll understand what he’s up against and let’s see what kind of makeup he’s got, if he’s going to fight and battle back.
 
“Sure enough, he went out there tonight and looked very confident, like he felt like he was in control. He got away with a few line drives, but nevertheless threw strikes and only gave up two hits. I was proud of him.”
 
The Phils didn’t do a lot of hitting behind Asher. They had just six hits. But three of them came in the third inning and two of them were homers, a solo shot by Peter Bourjos and a three-run blow by Ryan Howard.
 
That was enough for Asher, who was backed by the successful relief work of Edubray Ramos, Hector Neris and Jeanmar Gomez.
 
Asher had two growth experiences after his poor showing in the majors last year.
 
The first came in a conversation with pitching coach Bob McClure. During that conversation, Asher realized that he couldn’t get away with throwing his straight fastball against major-league hitters. He needed to get some movement on the pitch. He developed a two-seam fastball and had success with the pitch over the first six weeks of this season at Double A and Triple A.
 
“It was a little bit of self-evaluation and talking to Mac and some of the pitchers,” Asher said of the decision to add a two-seam sinker. “Velocity doesn’t work up here. It doesn’t matter how hard you throw, if it’s straight, they’re going to hit it. So going into the offseason, it was something that I wanted to have, something that had movement on it. It has made a world of difference and we want to keep building on it.”

The other growth experience was not a pleasant one. Just as he was putting together a good run at Triple A in May, Asher was suspended 80 games for testing positive for a PED. He denies any wrongdoing. He says he put no banned substances in his body. Former Phillies pitcher Daniel Stumpf was also suspended earlier this season. Like Asher, he denied using any banned substances. Major League Baseball, of course, sticks by its testing program and the suspensions it levied.
 
“It’s unfortunate what happened, but it’s in the past now,” Asher said. “There’s five of us and we’re all in the same boat. We’re all looking for a resolution on what had happened. But that’s all I got for you.”
 
Mackanin said he never sought an explanation about what happened from Asher. That was handled by upper management.
 
“I don’t even want to talk about it,” Mackanin said. “As far as I’m concerned it’s water under the bridge.”
 
The Phillies are a land of opportunity for aspiring big leaguers. Asher’s good start Thursday night will earn him more looks down the stretch and if he pitches well he’ll be in the mix for a rotation spot next spring.
 
He will be followed in the rotation by Jake Thompson on Friday night and Jerad Eickhoff on Saturday night. All three pitchers joined the Phillies in the Hamels trade.
 
“It’s good to see all the guys from that trade in the rotation,” Mackanin said.

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